a journal about my experiences becoming a certified genealogist

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So, let’s see if we can find any significant documents in just one day at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. [1]

In this example, you could pull two Civil War pensions, two Compiled Military Service records (CMSR) and two or more land records related to one or more of the federal land grants (homestead, Timber or Mineral Culture, etc. I selected these records because they are easy to pull, and are usually on everyone’s list of documents.

Obviously, pre-planning is key.

Before you go:

Identify all your Civil War ancestors and obtain their pension card from Ancestry.com (“U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934”). Copy each card into a document for each soldier/sailor. If you cannot find their pension card in Ancestry, try the “Soldiers and Sailors Database” (https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm) hosted by the National Park Service. Your goal is to obtain from the website the unit regiment number, state, company and type of unit. Make note of these for your soldiers/sailors. You now have a list of soldiers/sailors who fought in the war and images of their pension card.

Identify all individuals who might have obtained a Homestead or homestead type lands. Even if your ancestors didn’t obtain land under the 1862 act, they may have acquired property under the many subsequent acts. You can conduct a name search on the Bureau of Land Management site (https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx). Using the BLM site, record each ancestor’s name, the office through which they obtained the land, the legal description and the final account number.

Make a lunch for the next day.

If you have 4 or more records identified in each of the Civil War pensions, CSMRs and land records, prioritize them. You will probably not be able to capture them all in one day.

Tip #1: If you are super efficient you will have obtained your researcher card the day before your research day. Try for late in the day (3:30 pm) when there is no line.

Research Day:

9:00 am

On the day you arrive, be there at 9:00 a.m. when NARA opens. You will go through a TSA-type scanner, sign in, and stand in line to get your researcher card. This can take an hour. Use your new card to scan in at the front desk.

Tip #2: It is likely that NARA will be adding an additional pull time (that’s when they go get the records) Since it is unknown when this will occur, for the purposes of this post, I am assuming the first pull is at 10:00 am.

Grab some of the blanks of the Reference request forms and of the military request forms as you have identified ancestors. You can pick these up on a table opposite the desk where you scanned your card.

Fill out your first military form. In the researcher’s name field, enter your name (last name first), then enter your researcher number from your new researcher card, your soldiers/sailors name, and unit identification in the boxes noted. Place an X in the box for “service record.” Fill out as many of the forms as you have ancestors which might have CSMRs. You are done with with your requests for CSMRs. Next, fill out the military forms the same way you did for the CSMRs, only this time add the numbers from the Ancestry pension index, making sure you have the numbers lined up correctly within the category, e.g. widow, minor, etc. It is a little tricky. Put an X in the box opposite the word “Pension”. Take forms to the front desk where you scanned your card and hand them for review. They will fill in the rest of the boxes and check your work.

Walk your corrected and approved forms over to the Microform transactions desk and place in the small wooden box opposite the transaction desk.

You likely got those four pull slips in before the 10:00 pull. Congratulations! You now have to wait for the NARA employees to get the documents and deliver them to the second floor. But, you are super efficient and well prepared, you have other work to do.

10:00 am

While you are waiting for your military records, take your four Reference forms into the consultation room. While you wait for an archivist to help you, fill out your name and researcher number and your land records facts in the space provided (name, legal description, Land Office and final certificate number). The Archivist will review and complete filling out the forms and submit them for the next pull at 11:00.

10:35 am

Now go put your stuff into a locker. I keep only my laptop, my phone/camera and my cables and, of course, my researcher card. Everything else goes into the locker.

10:45 am

It is possible your records are now waiting for you, otherwise, you have a little time to “kill.” Think about your next priority….carded medical records? Enlistment records (important if you think your soldier was a substitute), more land records, legislative correspondence or private claims? Information on nurses of the CW, or something else you want to get?

If a consultation with an Archivist would help, this would be a good time to have a brief chat. Or, if looking at Ancestry, Fold3 or other website would help at this point, consider using the computers at the 1st floor. Also, you could take a side trip to the Innovation Hub to see whether scanning a document for the NARA website is something you want to do. (To volunteer to do scanning, you have to declare that on your form in advance of submission.)

11:00 am

Go up to the second floor and find a station in the front room or the room to your left. Set up your computer and your camera. Watch for the guy in the blue “lab coat” as they are the individuals who deliver the documents.

Tip # 3: I suggest you locate your workstation facing the window because, for photography, the light is better coming at you. It reduces the amount of shadows on your documents.

Tip #4: If you have a regular digital SLR camera you might check out the camera stands they have available for your use. At a minimum, pick up the plastic flat pieces to weigh down those sharply folded papers, so you can take a better quality photo of them.

11:30 am

You have your first box of documents!! Woo hoo. And, you are all set to go. Pick a pension file. These are thick large envelopes. Sign the slip, and take the envelop to your work station. Carefully remove it from the envelope. Before you do ANYTHING else, take a photo of your green pull slip that came with your documents. Do this every time.

Tip #5: If you come across a series of documents with a staple or any other type of fastener, take it to the front desk and ask if they can remove it. Removal makes the photographing so much easier and the archivists want them removed. They will give you a substitute.

Your pension could take a full hour to photograph. If it doesn’t take that long, pull your next document, probably one of the CMSRs, as these are usually much shorter documents to review.

By this time, the documents may have suggested other documents to review. For example, is there reference to a court martial? Then perhaps you should check the court martial finding aids in the consultation room.

Start keeping a future research log for your next trip to the Archives.

12:30 pm

Take a lunch break. You will have to pack up your things and remove them from the research room. The quickest lunch is to bring your lunch, but there is a cafeteria downstairs that serves freshly made sandwiches, drinks and snacks.

If you have other pull slips, put those into the box, but there is no purpose in asking for things that you will not get to.

Tip #6: If you have decided that you wish to come back the next day, they will hold your records for you.

1:00 am

Go back to the research room and set up your work station again on 2nd floor. Start reviewing your next pension record.

2:00 pm

Review your two Compiled Military Service Records. These are usually very quick. If you are lucky your ancestor has some personal papers in the file as well….this generally means he did something wrong or questionable…so, more paperwork! Carded medical records are also very quick to review.

3:00 pm

Review your land records. If you put in four this will take at least an hour to review and photograph. Mine were very tightly packaged and so you will need that plastic sheet to weigh the folds down.

4:30 pm

There are no pulls after 4:00 and there are no records handed out after 4:30. So you are done for the day. You have very efficiently reviewed two pension records, two CMSR and at least two land records, and you have a research plan for your next trip to the Archives! Good job.

Tip#7: It is now 4:30 pm, no more pulls or documents handed out, exit the building and walk around to the public side. Even in July, at this time of day, there will probably not be any lines. Walk in and visit our country’s most important documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Follow the signs to the Rotunda.

Now, the genealogy work really begins. You will want to file all your photos, transcribe the documents and link them to the proper ancestor in your database. This could take many days to record all the documents that you gathered in just one day!

Happy Hunting!

Jill

What I have done since the last post: visited with my newly found cousin on my mother’s side, flew back to Seattle, took a nap with my cat on my lap, started sorting my genealogy “stuff”, recorded my expenses in my expense sheet. Started working on transcriptions of a land record of my great grandfather.

[1] It is possible to have success in 4 hours for a well-prepared researcher with a research card, but I am assuming that my “typical” researcher is a first timer.

I enjoyed Gen-Fed; those of you who follow me on Facebook know that already! I feel more comfortable working within NARA, with the Staff and the records, and even the website, than I did before I arrived. Here are some of my research observations of my week. Specific tips will be covered later.

One of the easiest records to pull is a Civil War pension or a Civil War Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR). If you have individuals who served in the Civil War, I recommend that these records be pulled first. Pick up the military form, fill it out, take it to the desk on first floor. They will review your work and make sure you have entered things correctly. You then put it into the pick up box. And you are done with that request. You can put in a maximum of 4 requests per hour.

Picking up the pension/CMSR isn’t that hard either. After the pull of the record, you go to the research room on 2nd floor, turn left and go to the far wall (in the next room) to request your file. Of course, there are security stops along the way but the actual process of picking up a record is simple. Have fun!

I call these types of records “episodic;” that is, you request a file by given & surname and you get it. You review one, and that is it. Bounty land records fall into this category as well (with an extra step).

“Longitudinal research” is what I call subject research. Longitudinal research “feels” more like a fishing expedition where you are looking at subject files (not filed by surname) that may or may not directly refer to your ancestor. NARA is really set up for longitudinal research. Therefore, one week will never seem enough for this type of research.

I had to manage my expectations. We get used to “grazing Ancestry” and finding (or not) hits with some regularity. Archival research, especially longitudinal research, is contemplative and strategic– one cannot expect positive results on the hour. It just doesn’t happen. If you get a “hit” with one record a day—consider that a good day. Two?–total win.

I think my comments above go to my core issue–NARA research is different, and it has something to do with the fact they file by record group, but there is more to it than that. NARA seems overwhelming, but like life–you take it a chunk at a time.

In any archive, there is a total dependence on the archivist that is not true of researching in a library. That is not a bad thing; I love having interactions with a deeply knowledgeable archivist. I am grateful for the experienced archivists and I am very gentle with those that are still learning the records. All of us were there at one time or another. In archives, we have to “ask for help.” And, it’s OK if we do!

I could have been better prepared for my Gen-Fed experience, — maybe “better” is the wrong word. Maybe the right word is “differently.” It is one of those things where you say to yourself, “If I knew then what I know now…” I should have done more reading of the NARA publications, particularly of the ones I would most likely access–Civil War Records and land records. I have some NARA directories in my library and I should have reviewed those. I should have spent more time online getting very familiar with the website…shoulda, shoulda, shoulda.

The reality is that now that I have gone through Gen-Fed, those books and the website make a whole lot more sense than they did before, so I question whether I would have been more knowledgeable or just more frustrated, if I have done more reading.

GenFed actually leaves you some time to conduct research during the week–the urban myth of no research time at Gen-Fed is false. Malissa and Debra have done a good job of scheduling. For example, I had the form filled out at Archive II and put into the pull box, before we even started the presentations in the morning. When the morning talks were over, I went and picked up the file. Since I had brought my lunch, I could review the file and then eat lunch all before the afternoon sessions.

Did I mention that I loved my classmates? They were all so smart and so eager to learn. It was great fun sharing discoveries and being supportive even when that special record just didn’t happen! Thanks.

Next blog will be some specific hints for a successful GenFed experience or NARA visitation.

Happy hunting!

Jill

What I have done since the last posting: vacationed with my family on the Cape, presented at the Falmouth Genealogy Society, worked on and submitted my presentations for the International Germanic American Conference; and responded to questions from the registrants for the next Certification Discussion Group and added folks to the wait list. (I already have a long wait list for the Fall and even winter session, but don’t let that impede you from sending me an email and signing up–the list isn’t going to get shorter if you wait.) And, of course, GenFed and some of my own research.

I am going to Gen-Fed! I was lucky enough last February to hit the registration button at minute 3 and get into the highly competitive institute, Gen-Fed 2017, held in Washington, DC.[2] Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) is a week-long series of classes concentrating on the records held at the National Archives. I will meet up with 40 genealogists who have the same interests in history, genealogy and archival research as I do.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the National Archives (NARA), they collect, store and preserve the records of the federal government.[3] Think of NARA as the “nation’s file cabinet.” Their collection includes our country’s foundational documents, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, and the correspondence of senators and representatives, and records of federal appointments (think postmasters), naturalizations, military records, etc.

I have been told there won’t be much time to do personal research and so I have planned my trip for two extra days at the end of the institute—Saturday and Monday. It won’t be enough, but we will see how much I can accomplish in that time.

I prepare in advance for any research trip and this one especially so because of my lack of familiarity with this archive. I have prepared a “problem packet” for each of my research questions which includes all I know about each problem.

I want to write an article about six Union soldiers of a Pennsylvania regiment who were captured by the Confederates at Weldon Railroad and taken to Salisbury Prison in North Carolina. Why do I find these six so interesting? They “went over to the Rebs” while in prison, as recorded in the diary of their leader, James Eberhardt.
Confederate recruiters would come to the prison (Salisbury had conditions similar to Andersonville) and asked if anyone wanted to fight on their side. Six in James’s command volunteered. I want to know more about them. I have already pulled what there is from Fold3 and Ancestry on each.

I have a client with an ancestor who fought for the Union Army by the name of John Cox. I am hoping to be able to sort out which of the six John Coxs from Indiana he could be.

One night we will visit the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library.[4] I have a client with an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War and have pre-identified about 20 pages of documentation I would like to have copied. While our visit is short (just a couple of hours one evening), I have the call numbers at the ready! Thanks, Paula, DAR Registrar for the State of Washington, for walking me through the DAR online catalog!!

For another friend, I am going to pull what I can find on two African American Revolutionary War soldiers, Barzillia Lew and Lemuel Haynes. DAR doesn’t seem to have anything. Ancestry has a pension file number on Lew.

I have identified seven Union Soldiers who are buried at the Illinois Asylum for the Insane (Elgin); I would like to pull their pension records. Only two have been identified. This is another article I am considering.

For a friend who is helping a prison inmate who is conducting his own family history research, I will pull two Civil War pension files.

I would like to see what records there are on my dad, Harold Jacobson, who was in the Office of the Strategic Services, a precursor to the CIA during WWII. These records have recently come online.

I looked for bankruptcy documents on the bank in Woden, Iowa, of my grandfather. It went under in 1931/2. In my prep work, I discovered his records are located at the NARA branch in St. Louis. This is important information; otherwise, I would have wasted time looking in DC for a record that was in Missouri.

I wanted to locate Canal Zone employment records for a client and those too are in NARA-St. Louis.

And, if I really have time, I want to pull the naturalization correspondence files (if any) on Emma (Anderson) Jacobson, my grandmother, who should have been gone through the naturalization process even though she was native born. Emma “hit a window” where she lost her citizenship when she married the (at that time) Danish citizen, Chris Jacobson, even though she was born in Iowa in 1881. When I wrote to the Archives before, I asked for only her naturalization papers; I should have paid for the full search, including the correspondence file.[5]

Whew!

I am excited to get acquainted with the classmates, instructors and the records themselves. The Archives seems a little intimidating to me and I want to get a better idea of how to find records that may answer some of my research questions that relate to the federal government.

I want to stress the importance of continuing education. Just because I received the credential of Certified Genealogist, the need for education does not stop, nor do I want it to. I hope to blog regularly about the experience which starts next week, but I know that our days (and some evenings) will be too densely packed to do so.

Happy hunting!

Jill

What I have done since the last posting: The prep for Gen-Fed was pretty intense. In addition, I completed a 50-page client report. I prepared for a presentation to the Falmouth (MA) Genealogical Society—a group I have presented to for the past 4 years. I thought I had the presentation just about done, and I just had to write up the syllabus—not true! It took another 20+ hours to get it presentation-worthy and then a couple more hours to write the syllabus. (FYI: I work between 80-100 hours on each presentation. By the time I am done with it, I can write the 4-page syllabus in about 4 hours.)

[1] Horydczk, Theodor, photographer. “National Archives under construction.” c. 1920-1950. stable URL: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/thc1995004221/PP/.
[2] Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed), http://www.gen-fed.org/. Class was full in 8 minutes!
[3] National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), http://www.archives.gov
[4] Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library, http://www.dar.org/library
[5] I suspect that Emma just thought that was a silly law and when she could vote in 1921, she did. In the 1930s she was the Republican representative to her precinct, a strong supporter of prohibition and held offices in her local WCTU. I cannot imagine with that background that she didn’t vote and to vote she had to be a citizen….but, she probably wasn’t.

Some of you know that I run a 7 part series on certification strategies and methodologies that helped me submit my portfolio to the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) in 2016. I am again “taking names” of those who are interested in learning more (no commitment implied) about the series. The goals are two-fold: demystifying the process and increasing your knowledge so you submit your portfolio smarter! There are no perquisites, other than wanting to know more about the portfolio process. No part of this program is sanctioned by BCG, but they have encouraged me to continue.

I run two groups of 14 each, once a quarter–a session in the morning and one at night. These are 100% online (Google HangOuts). We cover the application process, the seven elements and the “aftermath.” Some say there are two types of portfolio submissions: those who think they are ready and the “over-readies.” By demystifying the process I believe all attendees will identify when they are ready to start the process and strategies for submission.

I started this group because the state of Washington had the fewest number of Certified Genealogists(R) per 1 million population than any state that had them (6 states had no CGs.) (See blog post here.) I felt some of it was a lack of knowledge about certification, but some of it was because it seemed like too big of a hurdle to people who were already very well prepared. Because of that interest in increasing our total CGs to greater than two (!), there is a preference given in placement and cost to those that are Seattle Genealogical Society members (the platform I use) and WA residents, but generally 1/2 of the class is from out of state.

If you are interested in being placed on the list, just email me at jkmorelli@gmail.com with your interest. Any other indication of interest will be ignored (PM on FB, reply to this post etc.).

Next class series will run in Oct/Nov. and another will probably run in February/March.

Happy Hunting!

Jill

What I have been doing since the last posting: I have been working on a long blog post on DNA and the portfolio. It will come out in a week or so. I am preparing to present at 3 more conferences this year in Mpls., Pittsburgh, and Arlington (WA) and have already traveled to two–Jamboree (CA) and Ohio GS. Each takes a bit of prep! I also just got accepted for Ohio again next year for two new ones. Yeah. Looking forward to a quiet fall (except we are traveling out of the country!)

[1} “on the clock” photograph by Jill Morelli, taken at The Boston Antheneum, 15 June 2017. (I post a photo of clock whenever the post is about being “on the clock.” Schmaltzy, of course.)

Certified Genealogist is a registered trademark and the designation CG is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by Board certificants who meet competency standards.

While at the Ohio State Genealogical Conference a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend multiple presentations on African American topics. I wanted to learn more about the records and their availability, but my desire to learn wasn’t just driven by my genealogical interests. African American history is also a part of my history as a white person.

I am part Swedish. Swedish records start in the mid 1900’s and extend in an unbroken line back to the late 1600s. One of my ancestors has a calculated birth date of 1595. The stark contrast of the continuity of Swedish records and those of African Americans is not lost on me. African American genealogists speak of the “the wall” of Emancipation. This wall is not like the white genealogist’s “brick wall,” which is often one that is more of a “high threshold.” The “wall” of Emancipation is real—there is a serious lack of records for a people who were, in the minds of their masters, working animals. Even if the slave adopted a surname, a critical identifier for a genealogist, it was informal, sometimes changed and not recorded until after Emancipation. Nor could they marry, another record type that appears after Emancipation.

And, no, slaves didn’t usually accept the name of the master upon Emancipation and if they did, they might change it some years later.

I am working with an African American family now where it was stunningly simple to trace them back to 1867, up to “the wall”. The family resided in a single county in Texas coninuously. Atypically, the family did adopt the surname of their master, and kept that name continuously. They defied the norms of African American research up to the point of where I, too, hit the wall of Emancipation.

The records which exist after Emancipation tell a skimpy story about the slave life of Ben, the slave ancestor of my client.[1] The master moved from Tennessee to Texas around 1846. Ben was born in Virginia between 1832 and 1838, but it is not known if he made the move south from Tennessee with the slave owner or was bought later. Was Ben purchased in Virginia and separated from his family when he was moved to Texas? Why did the master move from Tennessee to Texas? Was it just about the land? or, was it the desire of the master to move deeper south to secure his slaves.

What we do know is that in 1867, Ben registered to vote and recorded that he owned property–a brave and proud moment, but not without risk.

I know my next step—tracing the slave master. Slaves were property and as such had to be dealt with through the courts upon the slave owner’s death which occurred in 1858. If extant, the probate records will help. Also, it is possible that the plantation papers, the day to day working papers of the plantation, are available.

I have much to learn, but willing researchers attending the conference helped me take those first steps to learn more. And yes, I will continue the journey. I need to know more about plantation papers[2] and Freedman’s Bureau [3], and, about the records contained within the Historic Black Colleges and Universities[4]. (Many more were presented but these were some of the best.

At a minimum, for those of you who are “on the clock” consider attending a session at a conference or provided by your society which is other than the ethnic groups you primarily research. It is great fun to be a “beginner” again.

Happy Hunting!

Jill

What I have done since the last posting: worked on the BCG website, “played” President of the Seattle Genealogical Society (agenda, committee, reports, etc.) wrote briefing paper on online class for BCG who is very interested in the model.

In fact, I really dislike keeping track of what I look at. But, in my defense, I do keep a research log, but I do them differently. I am far more successful and consistent in my record keeping if I combine the following three items into single document:

my research plan

my research log

my findings

But, those of you who looked at my research plan from the two posts know that the research plan, log and the findings morphed into a single report seamlessly. Each section is important but the report should be considered “organic,” i.e. it will change and grow as you research and analyze your data.

I found myself working in this manner while I was on my second road trip last summer. The three bullets melted together. The final write-up was a separate document.

Step 1: Develop the research plan. I would start by figuring out where I would be in the next few days — usually more than one respository–and develop a research plan for each. Each could be a separate Word doc. At that time, I would draft a citations using EE consisting of as much information as I could gather from the website for the items I wanted.

Step 2: Research. When I was at the repository, I would follow the research plan, and if the item was found, color the research plan draft citation green, copy the draft citation over to section called Findings. I would then complete the citation, do the research, and record the findings. (Of course, it was never that smooth, but you get the idea.)

Step 3: Negative Search. If I did not find the item, I would leave the font black on the draft citation for the research plan and cut and paste the draft citation into a section called “Negative Searches.” I would add notes indicating why it was no longer available, complete the citation, and add notes.

Step 4: Negative Findings. If I found the item, but it didn’t contain information relevant to the research question, I would cut and paste the draft citation into the section “Negative Findings.” Again, I would add notes if it was appropriate and complete the citation, noting particularly the range of my review.

Step 5. New Discoveries. If I discovered some sources that I had not previously identified, I would either enter the draft citation into the research plan and proceed with what I was doing, or put the draft citation in the Findings section and make the notes/transcription as appropriate. [Note: these might be recommendations from the Archivist, for example.]

At this point in the report there are four sections: the Research Plan, Findings, Negative Searches (didn’t find the document at all) and Negative Findings (found the document but nothing relavant).

I had a lot of deeds to gather in one respository as both my grandfather and my great grandfather bought and sold land for a living. This created a situation where there were many deeds in a single index. This changed my pattern of onsite researching a little.

When I was gathering deeds at a particular location, I still did a citation template. I first recorded all the deeds that I wanted from that index, carefully recording the grantor/grantee, brief abstract of property, and volume and page number of each. As I photographed each original deed, I changed the index notation from black font color to green, the “code” indicating that I had taken the photo. There were some deeds I purposefully decided not to copy, and I colored the index notation red. I made sure I had all the information necessary for a complete citation and moved to the next deed. If I didn’t find the deed/document (rare) I left it black.

Some documents I transcribed while I was on site but that was a rare occurrence. For example, the county clerks do not want you photographing vital records. Where I was restricted from taking the photo, I transcribed the document. [Research hint: when BMDs are recorded at the local and the state level, get them both. You never know what additional information you will find.]

While there are many classes in how to develop research plans, and research logs and writing reports, all with elaborate spreadsheets, it always seemed like too much work. No spreadsheet, no matter how elaborate, can get me to enter everything I research as well as the system I have noted above. I think my method–for me–results in a more integrated report. All the information from a single repository is in a single place.

The next step is to write the report, but you now have all the information gathered together in a single spot. Congratulations.

Happy Hunting!

Jill

What I have done since the last posting: I am deeply trying to learn DNA analysis and attempting to solve a problem on my hubby’s mother’s side of the family. I have also volunteered to assist in updating the content in the BCG website. There is a whole team of folks doing this….a herculean effort.

Due to the overwhelming success of the “beta test,” I am getting ready to start the next Certification Discussion Groups, sponsored by the Seattle Genealogical Society. You may remember that about 4 months ago, I did a call out for individuals considering certification with the Board for Certification of Genealogists(R). I then conducted an online, 7-part series based on this blog and my experiences on the application process, the 7 elements and the aftermath.

I plan on conducting one or two of these again in the late summer early fall. The evaluations of the “beta” were extremely strong. I also appreciated the input as to where the program could be improved.

If you are interested in being considered in the next series of groups, you should drop me an email (jkmorelli@gmail.com) and ask to be put on the list. The priority is SGS members, WA residents, then everyone else in order of receipt. There is no charge to sign up, nor is there any commitment to agree to be a member. Date and times have not been set. Once the class is “built,” there will be a fee assessed to non-SGS participants, so please let me know if you are a member or a resident of WA.

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Certified Genealogist is a registered trademark and the designation CG is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by Board certificants who meet competency standards.